US JCPOA Exit A Breach of UN Charter: Iran’s Envoy

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations decried the US withdrawal from the multilateral 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposition of sanctions on Tehran as a breach of the UN Charter, saying the US is making history by violating a UNSC resolution it has voted for.

In a commentary published by the Guardian on Wednesday, Iran’s UN Ambassador Gholam Ali Khoshroo argued that by imposing sanctions on Iran, US President Donald Trump’s administration is reneging on the UNSC resolution 2231.

“For the first time in the history of the United Nations, the United States – a permanent member of the security council with veto power – is engaging in penalizing nations across the entire world; not for violating a security council resolution, rather, for abiding by it,” Khoshroo wrote.

“The US withdrawal from JCPOA and re-imposition of its sanctions is a serious breach of its legal obligations under the United Nations Charter, which entails its international responsibility. The international community must act in the face of this international intimidation and affront towards the international legal order,” he added.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in 2015 after years of negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), and also re-imposed the US sanctions on Iran.

After achievement of the JCPOA in Vienna in 2015, the UNSC unanimously passed resolution 2231 to endorse the nuclear deal, calling on UN member states to refrain “from actions that undermine implementation of commitments” under the Iran nuclear deal.